Method expands down under

Deluxe unit adds three facilities in Australia

Method Studios, the vfx group within the Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, added three facilities in Australia, further expanding Method’s network of studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and London.

Joining the under the Method banner is a new commercial facility in Sydney’s Walsh Bay district, the Deluxe-owned-and-operated commercial post-production business in Melbourne previously known as MRPPP and Sydney-based feature vfx studio at Lane Cove previously operating as CIS-Postmodern.

“Uniting our Australian visual effects businesses under the Method Studios brand paves the way for those creative facilities to work together even more synergistically,” said Deluxe Creative Services prexy Stefan Sonnenfeld. “It’s our plan to continue to increase the level of collaboration among all the creative facilities within Deluxe’s global network.”

Feature work being completed across the Method brand includes Fox’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” directed by Timur Bekmambetov and three Warner Bros. pics: “Dark Shadows,” directed by Tim Burton; “Clash of the Titans 2: Wrath of the Titans,” directed by Jonathan Liebesman; and Clint Eastwood’s “J. Edgar.”

“Method Studios in Australia launches with a team that is already well known in the local Australian and Asian markets,” said Dan Glass, Method Studios’ exec veep and senior vfx supervisor. “We’ll be working together to build on our creative and technical resources for both commercials and feature films.”

“Being part of Method’s international network means we can really raise the bar creatively for local clients,” added Alaric McAusland, head of Deluxe in Australia. “With the recent increase in the tax rebates for feature film production, our international clients will also be able to get their visual effects done locally. This is a win-win situation for the creative community of Australia.”

The Method Australia feature effects facility will include a dedicated software team under technology VP and former Weta CTO Paul Ryan. The feature division also includes vfx supervisor James Rogers, who has collaborated with filmmakers such as Alex Proyas and Baz Luhrmann.

On the commercial front, the Method Australia group will also share resources with the Method facilities in the U.S. Across Method, recent commercial work includes Kia’s “Share Some Soul,” directed by Mark Romanek, and Verizon’s “Arena,” helmed by Noam Murro.

In addition to visual effects, the Walsh Bay and Melbourne commercial facilities offer editing, color grading, 3D and 2D design, and finishing. Deluxe Australia, along with Deluxe companies Efilm and Stage One, are co-located within the Sydney visual effects facility.